


Everything but the Kitchen Table

by firbolging



Series: You Talk a Good Game [5]
Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Self Loathing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-01-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:54:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 734
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28592826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/firbolging/pseuds/firbolging
Summary: “So, do you think we should get married?”There was a twitch to her eyebrow that told him she’d waited until his mouth was completely full to say it. Caleb chewed as best he could manage with all of the world’s heat rushing to his head. Jester watched on patiently. His mouth had grown impossibly dry and an unbearable minute passed before he swallowed.
Relationships: Jester Lavorre/Caleb Widogast
Series: You Talk a Good Game [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2095134
Comments: 4
Kudos: 35





	Everything but the Kitchen Table

Caleb watched as Jester picked at her half of his sandwich. She helped herself so often than he had formed a habit of making enough for two. Likewise, she had formed a habit of taking half even when she couldn’t stand the taste.

She wasn’t going to eat any of it, he knew, but there was an unusual degree of distraction to how she ripped off tiny pieces of crust.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

Their lives had been relatively peaceful compared to the tumultuous years of wars between nations and the menagerie of old Gods who had grown bored with banishment. Caleb’s mind, of course, was never at peace, but Jester’s demons were less vicious than his own. 

“I guess,” she said, breaking to sigh. “I guess I’m just waiting for the next disaster. It’s been quiet for too long.”

“Jester, there is no use in waiting for tragedy.”

She gave him a wide smile – wise and bright – before pushing the plate away and reaching, instead, for his hand. “You know, every time we save someone or something, we just get a glimpse at how many more people are in danger. It’s never going to end.”

“No. No it’s not. But, the good you do-”

“The good _we_ do.”

“The good anyone might do, isn’t worthless.”

“I know.”

“Oh.”

He swallowed hard and felt as lost as ever before her.

She continued, “The small things that only we know, one little bird baby saved, the prayers we whisper to our Gods, even the food we share, that’s what matters. I never cared about wars or nations, you know?”

“That is because you are uncommonly wise.”

“Maybe. Maybe it’s just how I was raised.”

“Maybe.”

Caleb continued to feel lost. In an attempt to ground himself, he dropped her hand, pulled her plate towards him, and began to eat.

“But you know now, what really matters, I mean.”

“I hope so,” he said.

She smiled wider and he knew he was in some kind of exquisite danger. Panicked, he took a great bite out of the sandwich.

“Good,” she said. The smile faded by a fraction; the breadth of an eyelash. “So, do you think we should get married?”

There was a twitch to her eyebrow that told him she’d waited until his mouth was completely full to say it. Caleb chewed as best he could manage with all of the world’s heat rushing to his head. Jester watched on patiently. His mouth had grown impossibly dry and an unbearable minute passed before he swallowed.

Still, he didn’t know what to say.

“Caleb?” she pressed. “What do you think?”

Mouth still dry and sandwich forgotten, he breathed, “You’re serious?”

He would have assumed she would want a romantic proposal. He would have given her one had he ever thought, for a single second, that this wasn’t a momentary respite from his miserable life, that it would come to an end and that he would be happy for her when she moved on to better things.

Her wicked smile turned sad and his guilt multiplied.

“Jester,” he began, slow and careful. He wanted to hold her hand again but he couldn’t muster the courage. “My dearest and most selfish wish is to be with you forever. But have you really thought about this?”

“You really hate yourself, huh?”

“Jester.”

“Caleb,” she shot back, taking both his hands in her own. It soothed him a little.

“Would you be asking me this if you weren’t thinking about imminent disaster?”

“No, if I wasn’t thinking about imminent disaster then I’d find a way to drop super heavy hints that I want you to ask me. We might not have time to wait for that though.”

“Well, this is a pretty heavy hint.”

“The heaviest.”

“What if we do have time? What if we have sixty more years and you’re still pretending to like my cooking?”

“Don’t be silly, Caleb! Once we’re married, I’ll have you cooking way nicer food.” He laughed in spite of himself. “Caleb, if we’re both still around in sixty years, I don’t want to be stealing anyone else’s sandwiches.”

He squeezed her hands and said, “Well, how about I pick up the hint? Carry that weight around for a bit, read some of your novels for research?”

“I mean… if that’s what you want to do… who am I to stand in your way?”


End file.
